When the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said a few years ago that the country will celebrate when the last barrel of oil is shipped, he means it.
In his first year as President of the country, Sheikh Mohamed has focused on increasing the role of Emiratis in the different spectrums of life, strengthening human capital, signing Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) to diverse the country’s economy from petrodollars as well as improving food safety and security of the country to make the country an economic powerhouse not just in the region but on a global scale.
In order to incorporate citizens in the workforce, especially in leadership roles, firms with 50 employees are required to increase the number of Emiratis in their skilled workforce by one per cent every six months. This will expedite the country’s transition towards human capital and create more opportunities for the citizens in the higher echelon of leadership in public and private sectors and also improve the country’s ranking in Global Human Capital Index.
In the past year, another major economic innovative step under the leadership of His Highness was the launch of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with key partner countries to further boost and facilitate trade. So far, the UAE has concluded agreements with India, Indonesia, Israel and Turkey.
“The signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with my friend Tayyip Erdogan strengthens the partnership between the UAE & Türkiye. UAE-Türkiye CEPA builds on our longstanding ties to deliver further growth, opportunity and stability for our countries and our people,” Sheikh Mohamed said during the CEPA signing with Turkey.
Importantly, the country is already bearing the fruit of this first CEPA deal signed with India, one of the largest trading partners of the UAE.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the UAE-India CEPA, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, revealed that the bilateral non-oil trade has increased by 7 per cent to reach $45.5 billion in 11 months since CEPA came into effect on May 1, 2022.
This reflects that the country’s vision to reduce reliance on oil and increase the contribution of non-oil sectors in the GDP is paying off, thanks to the signing of the CEPAs.
In addition, a new initiative focused on strengthening economic cooperation has been launched by leaders of the UAE, the US, India and Israel – also known as I2U2.
The UAE President has also stressed financial inclusion so that all segments of society can benefit from the opportunities that arise with the growth of the economy.—Zawya News
